Leucogaster
Honeycomb truffle
The honeycomb truffle ( leucogaster ) is a fungal genus in the family Schafporlingsverwandten ( Albatrellaceae ). The fungi have smooth, truffle -like and grow underground fruiting bodies, which are whitish to yellowish. The whitish gleba secretes when it is carved from a milk. The more or less rounded and hyaline spores have a double spore wall. The model type is Leucogaster floccosus.
- 5.1 Notes and references
Features
Macro features
The 0.7-5 cm high and 0.7-5 cm broad truffle fruiting bodies are shaped like spherical and to have a soft to firm sometimes hard consistency. The Gleba has a honeycomb- like structure and is whitish or yellowish to ocher yellow. It separates in violation of a milky sap. The outer surface is smooth and whitish to yellowish or pale ocher- colored to brown. In case of contact, the fruiting bodies sometimes yellowish discoloration. The smell is strong yeast or garlic -like.
Micro-features
10-18 microns long and as wide spores are more or less spherical and have a honeycomb structure. They are surrounded by a double wall or outer shell, a Apiculus missing. The spores are hyaline and inamyloid. The basidia are up to 50 microns long. They are club-shaped, cylindrical, or contracted and usually bear four sterigmata. Zystiden missing. The Hyphensystem is monomitisch, that is, it occurs only a Hyphentyp, buckles are absent or rare.
Ecology and distribution
The fungus is an ectomycorrhizal the more or less underground ( hypogeous ) in the ground or in the leaf and needle litter grows. Representatives of the genus have been found in Europe, North America and Australia. Worldwide there are about 20 species. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland probably occur only Leucogaster badius and the honeycomb Nude Truffle ( Leucogaster nudus ) in southern Europe, in addition leucogaster leucogaster liosporus and find tozzianus.
System
The genus Leucogaster 1882 was defined by R. Hesse. The type species is Leucogaster
Species
The genus has about 20 species worldwide .. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland are, depending on view until four to species.